by Kyna Wright
It all began with a project, where I explored the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton. I read books, articles, and memoirs about the Newton, the BPP and what they were doing in their communities. This research led to realization that what I had been taught within my history classes concerning the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement; was only one side and typically that of media. I was never given the full and true stories about the activities that occurred during powerful and dreadful times for many Blacks in America. I then thought about what activities my grandma had done back in my hometown concerning Circleville and educating our town about our own hidden black history. So, I made it my mission to prevent students from only hearing “one-sided” stories, and never having the realizations that I had about my own history. I instantly began researching Black history within Ohio, and I soon realized that there were many stories that I had never heard of. Stories of black families and individuals who paved ways with the resources they had and the little that they were given. After researching, I began contacting my grandmother as well as other Ohio historians that focused on African American history. I encountered historians who were excited for and supportive of a young college student who was making ways to continue the “passing down” of our history. Months of planning and grant writing made it possible for me to finally see my program coming to fruition. I must say, I am excited that through dedication and the help of family and friends; If Truth Be Told began. If Truth Be Told, Discovering Ohio Black History, Legacy, Heritage focuses on unveiling unknown African American history. The mission is to not only educate but to continue passing down the stories of people who through blood, sweat, tears, defiance, and dedication shaped the Ohio we know and love today.
There is one quote that could sum up the beginning of this speaker series as well as what we continually aim to achieve. It was part of Dr. Ric Sheffield's presentation, "Community Within: Discovering African American History in Rural Ohio." He said, “I can be invisible to my community and hyper-visible to my community.” That is, he is both invisible and hyper-visible to his community: ignored, neglected, left out of, and erased ... while simultaneously targeted, disproportionately policed and disciplined, placed on a pedestal, and always watched and overseen.
This speaker series exposed this seeming contradiction.
Cathy Nelson's doors--specifically the back doors where slaves came and went on the Underground Railroad--are an example of this invisibility/hypervisibility contradiction. These doorways are abundantly visible--used every day, multiple times a day, depended upon and necessary, but at the same time so ordinary that we don't pay attention to them at all. We focus on and beautify and study and appreciate the front doors, never the back doors. Nelson reminds us that the ordinary, everyday stuff in our lives is critical to our existence. It wouldn't be "every day" if it weren't critical.
LaRue and Gibbs' Black union soldiers are another set of contradictions. They were hyper-visible because they were fighting for freedom: they were exemplars of the very spirit motivating the entire Civil War. However, their fight was also invisible to white government officials who refused to pay them equitable wages, forcing them to live in shambles, etc.
Deborah Wright's 147 African American men in Circleville, Ohio, who signed a petition that asked the government to punish those trying to keep the vote away from them are examples of the invisibility/hypervisibility contradiction. To some, these men were not even human: both savage and stupid and docile; subject to both heavy policing and punishment as well as being ignored and unheard. To others, these men were the linchpin in the signing of the Enforcement Act of 1870 and the extension of civil rights to over 4 million former slaves. And, they were! Their petition gave government officials the grounds to introduce bills to enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments. They were so crucial and yet so forgettable. They are now erased from our histories. Even from their families' histories. Therefore, it's so important for Wright's group, the Pickaway County African American Heritage Association, to locate descendants of those 147 men and let them know their ancestors did profound, historical work. That will bring them out of obscurity and invisibility.
If nothing else, this speaker series helped us know more of the unknown, as well as un-know so much that we thought we knew everything about.
This Program is made possible in part by the Ohio Humanities Council a State affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities
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